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Traps, Agency, and Telegraphing Dangers
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9094974" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>This is not actually true. But I understand why you think it is.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Your whole post is great, but I wanted to highlight these two points specifically because they poke a hole in the "never telegraph, the whole point of a trap is to catch victims unaware" argument.</p><p></p><p>That is, it is allegedly more realistic that traps work that way. I counter that this must be tempered with the real behavior of traps that <em>get no maintenance for centuries or millennia.</em></p><p></p><p>Unless powerful magic is woven into the traps, they won't be self-resetting. The poison on the darts will dry out and oxidize. The gears will rust. The stones fall, and no one remains who can put them back up to fall on the next victims (nor to clean up the smear on the floor.) The pit fills with water or debris. The false floor falls in due to an earthquake. Etc., etc., etc.</p><p></p><p>Traps require a great deal of maintenance and engineering to keep functional. If you're diving into a thousand-year-old tomb, it is <em>realistic</em> that some of the defenses of that tomb should have broken down, lost their camouflage, or <em>already done their job</em> and never been reset/rebuilt. The ones closest to the exterior are the ones most liable to breakdown. That's a perfect, <em>realistic</em> opportunity to telegraph things to the players.</p><p></p><p>This tedious straw man that players can only have agency when they get to read the GM's notes is simply untrue. What is needed is <em>giving the players a fair shot.</em> If they fail to take it up, or bungle the execution (no pun intended), that's on them.</p><p></p><p></p><p>So, so, so, SO many GMs just do not understand this. You reap what you sow.</p><p></p><p>If you teach your players that every wall and floor could harbor instant death, they will tediously sweep every square inch. If you teach your players that being merciful results in just facing more foes later, they will skip mercy and save themselves the trouble. If you teach your players that crime is rewarding and the authorities are incompetent, wicked, or easily manipulated, they will gladly commit crime. If you teach them that their "allies" are as like as not to be backstabbing jerks exploiting them, they won't engage in diplomacy except to exploit others.</p><p></p><p><em>You reap what you sow.</em></p><p></p><p>That's why I embrace player creativity and agency. Why I make sure that mercy is almost always effective (except on the truly, deeply committed/unrepentant), that allies are generally true to their word unless tricked/coerced, that <em>some</em> authority figures are actually effective and well-meaning. That if they pause and reflect, and try to do the good and noble thing, there is a genuine, meaningful chance of success, though it may prove difficult and/or costly.</p><p></p><p>Because that's a game I'm actually interested in running.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9094974, member: 6790260"] This is not actually true. But I understand why you think it is. Your whole post is great, but I wanted to highlight these two points specifically because they poke a hole in the "never telegraph, the whole point of a trap is to catch victims unaware" argument. That is, it is allegedly more realistic that traps work that way. I counter that this must be tempered with the real behavior of traps that [I]get no maintenance for centuries or millennia.[/I] Unless powerful magic is woven into the traps, they won't be self-resetting. The poison on the darts will dry out and oxidize. The gears will rust. The stones fall, and no one remains who can put them back up to fall on the next victims (nor to clean up the smear on the floor.) The pit fills with water or debris. The false floor falls in due to an earthquake. Etc., etc., etc. Traps require a great deal of maintenance and engineering to keep functional. If you're diving into a thousand-year-old tomb, it is [I]realistic[/I] that some of the defenses of that tomb should have broken down, lost their camouflage, or [I]already done their job[/I] and never been reset/rebuilt. The ones closest to the exterior are the ones most liable to breakdown. That's a perfect, [I]realistic[/I] opportunity to telegraph things to the players. This tedious straw man that players can only have agency when they get to read the GM's notes is simply untrue. What is needed is [I]giving the players a fair shot.[/I] If they fail to take it up, or bungle the execution (no pun intended), that's on them. So, so, so, SO many GMs just do not understand this. You reap what you sow. If you teach your players that every wall and floor could harbor instant death, they will tediously sweep every square inch. If you teach your players that being merciful results in just facing more foes later, they will skip mercy and save themselves the trouble. If you teach your players that crime is rewarding and the authorities are incompetent, wicked, or easily manipulated, they will gladly commit crime. If you teach them that their "allies" are as like as not to be backstabbing jerks exploiting them, they won't engage in diplomacy except to exploit others. [I]You reap what you sow.[/I] That's why I embrace player creativity and agency. Why I make sure that mercy is almost always effective (except on the truly, deeply committed/unrepentant), that allies are generally true to their word unless tricked/coerced, that [I]some[/I] authority figures are actually effective and well-meaning. That if they pause and reflect, and try to do the good and noble thing, there is a genuine, meaningful chance of success, though it may prove difficult and/or costly. Because that's a game I'm actually interested in running. [/QUOTE]
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